Tips on Holding Your Very First Conference

by Ju Lee on February 20, 2013

With a few tips it can be easy to run your own conference!

Holding your very first conference can be intimidating. About a year ago, best delegate told my team that one way to fundraise is by holding your own conference. Because of the burden, we decided to let it drop. Then recently, our team decided that maybe it was time to hold the very first conference in Los Angeles to let the community know about MUN and to fundraise; it would be killing two birds with one stone. Although I might not be the most experience, here are some tips that might help getting started with your very first conference.

1. Decide on your staff

Before planning for anything, it is important to decide on who will participate in the conference. As seen in the article, How to Apply for Conference Staff, the people that are part of the staff makes a huge impact on the delegates who attend. When making the decision, you should always remember that it would be wiser to pick students who have experience to chair. For my team, we decided that only the delegates who have been in the team for at least a year will be chairs and vice-chairs. Whereas, the new delegates on the team will be legals.

2. Get the Basics Down

Once the staff is decided, it is important to hold weekly meetings and get the basics down on the paper; date, committees, topics, name of conference, fees, location of conference, high schools to invite, lunch, etc. When our team first started meeting, the students would just comment on how the conference will become a huge failure. But once we got our basics down, everything just started to flow.

3. Communication

Communication within the staff and with other delegates and schools that are invited is essential. Before inviting any schools and delegates, make sure to have decided on the people who would be the main communicators for the conference. You can make a special email just for the conference, and maybe even a specific phone number. Also, make sure that the team is in good communication with organizations, and groups that will be helping out with the conference.

4. Know Your Limits

When planning, the team should always keep in mind its limits. Even if the team might be large and successful, that doesn’t mean it will be able to successfully hold a conference for thousands of delegates. Therefore, before reaching out to anyone, decide on the maximum number of delegates that can attend the conference so that there will be a higher chance of making the conference a huge success.

5. Be Confident

Because it is the first conference for the team to hold, it can be very nerve-wrecking throughout the planning process and throughout the conference. So everyone on the staff should get confidence in every step they make and know that nothing can hurt from making a mistake.

Good luck to all the teams that plan to hold their very first conference!